Anything Can Be

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."

-Shel Silverstein

Photo source: (http://womenonthefence.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Anything_Is_Possible.jpg)

This is as true for adults as it is for children. In fact, I think we can learn even more from it.
 

We need to learn how to listen to the "negative".  Sometimes things that feel disappointing or discouraging can be just the light that was needed to move you forward into new possibilities. To accept and embrace our areas of weakness as writers is the only way to conquer them. 

The mustn'ts and the don'ts, the shouldnt's and the impossibles and the wont's, can all be used to motivate us - to drive us to work harder, to learn more, to be better, to succeed.
 

LISTEN. Really listen, with an open heart, to the negative.  And then learn from it.  Beat it.  "Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."
 

Have you turned what felt like a negative 

into something positive with your writing?

Christine'sThankful Tuesdays #4

Christine Fonseca's Thankful Tuesdays #4
 

Christine Fonseca had the brilliant idea of dedicating each Tuesday in November to writerly things we are thankful for. She invites anyone to play along, and she even set up a schedule for us. Here is the remaining schedule:

11/23 – Giving Thanks to Writing (in general)

Today's focus is on Writing

On this Tuesday before Thanksgiving, there is much to be thankful for.  I am thankful for my wonderful husband and my three precious kiddos.  I'm thankful for a job I love in a town I never want to leave.  And I am thankful for writing.

Writing has always been a major part of my life.  I majored in English because of my love for words and literature.  I became a teacher so I could live in that world every day.  Now, I teach mostly composition and can't wait for the day when I get to teach creative writing, too.  But the best writing thing that has EVER happened to me was the day I began blogging.

Today, I am thankful for all of you.  This blogging community keeps me motivated and energized and encouraged and supported.  I no longer feel like I'm on an impossible journey - one that no one else understands.  I have all of you to commiserate with, to celebrate with, to learn and grow with.  And I am thankful.

My writing gratitude goes to all of you.
Thank you for being here with me.

I am taking the rest of the week off for the holiday.  My sister is coming from Seattle to visit - Yay!  I'll see you all on Monday.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's an Epidemic

In honor of shedding our funks and doubts, of trading them for courage and confidence, I am infecting you all with a new plague.  Enter the weekend happy!

Happiness Epidemic

Without any warning, the disease
sweeps across the country
like a traveling circus.

People who were once blue,
who slouched from carrying
a bag of misery over one shoulder

are now clinically cheerful.
Symptoms include kind gestures,
a bouncy stride, a smile

bigger than a slice of cantaloupe.
You pray that you will be infected,
hope a happy germ invades your body

and multiplies, spreading merriment
to all your major organs
like door-to-door Christmas carolers

until the virus finally reaches your heart:
that red house at the end of the block
where your deepest wishes reside,

where a dog howls behind a gate
every time that sorrow
pulls his hearse up the driveway.

~David Hernandez

Have a wonderful and funk-free weekend, bloggy buddies!

Believe With Me

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” 

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Yesterday Elana J. did a post to encourage us the we CAN do this writing thing.  In that post she said, "I've noticed I've been in a bit of a funk, and that quite a few other people have been as well. Doubts are high. Confidence is low." She was right.

I have been in that funk--along with so many others--doubting myself and letting insecurity nibble away at me.  Elana encouraged me.  Shannon M. encouraged me.  My world class CP Valerie encouraged me. And then yesterday, Elena encouraged me again.  Today, I am making the choice to BELIEVE.

I am owning my own encouragement (but don't stop, ladies. I love you!).  I am choosing to believe that query wars will not defeat me; Scott and the Naughty Boy Factory will find a home; the agent I've been too terrified to query will love it.  I believe.  

Valerie tells me there are two rules of writing: to write and to be brave.  I choose to be brave.  I choose to believe.

Believe in YOU today!

“Believe in Yourself and there will come a day when others will have no choice but to believe with you.”

 ~ Cynthia Kersey Author 

P.S. Forgive my absence on your blogs this week.  I'm in a writing frenzy right now.  I'm reading your blogs.  I'm just not commenting.  I swear.

I'm a Bag Lady...And So Are You

"A writer is like a bag lady going through life with a sack and a pointed stick collecting stuff."

~ Tony Hillerman

photo source (http://www.thedigeratilife.com/images/baglady1.jpg)

Okay everyone, on three...

Grab bags!

Ready sticks!

And...
Write!

What creative and playful simile can you come up with today?

Christine Fonseca's Thankful Tuesdays #3

 

Christine Fonseca had the brilliant idea of dedicating each Tuesday in November to writerly things we are thankful for. She invites anyone to play along, and she even set up a schedule for us. Here is the remaining schedule:

11/16 – Giving Thanks to Editors
11/23 – Giving Thanks to Writing (in general)

Today's focus is on Editors

Editors are the buffer between our work and the world.  They are there to ensure that our stories enter Readerville at their best.  They not only improve our manuscripts, but they also make us better writers.

James Matthewson, an editor for IBM says:

Anyone who has ever written anything for publication can cite chapter and verse about how they have been saved by a good editor. Even if editors don’t make changes, having a second set of eyes with a different perspective on the audience allows writers to relax and create better work.

I have read post after post written by blogging friends about their experiences with editors.  Without fail, they feel like they have a much stronger story once they've finished.  

Today, take time to appreciate the countless hours spent by editors so that our writing and our stories can truly shine! 

To editors everywhere,

THANK YOU!

 

Thank You + A Winner

"You have to write a lot. And you have to rewrite what you wrote a lot more."

~ Holly Black



A Thank You

Many thanks to those of you who helped with my query woes yesterday. The feedback was wonderful, and I think we accomplished a lot together. THANK YOU!

*****

A Winner

The winner of
Monday's Marvelous Middle Grade Giveaway
and a new paperback copy of
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
is...

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: 52 Result: 5 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

And lucky #5 is...

JEN DAIKER

Thank you to everyone who entered. I'll be doing another Marvelous Middle Grade Monday next week! Have a great weekend!

Is this better?

Is this one better?

Version Three (posted after feedback)

Eight-year old Scott may be a bit lazy and messy and like to pick on his sister, but when he ruins her birthday party with a well-aimed cup of worms, his fed-up parents ship him off to The Naughty Boy Factory—a place he’d always believed was about as real as Bigfoot or the Bermuda Triangle.

At The Factory—where naughty boys are transformed into perfect gentlemen—the evil director and her scary robot guards alarm Scott enough to do as he’s told. But when he discovers two of the factory’s biggest bullies have been brainwashed into perfect angels, Scott decides things have gone too far. It’s all or nothing—escape or end up re-programmed into polite, spineless, mama's boys.

****

Versions one and two are still below. I decided to play with some of the feedback and see what I could come up with. Keep those hatchets sharp and hack away, people - I love it!!

Help Wanted

Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.

~ Sicilian Proverb

(http://inlinethumb11.webshots.com/32138/2227801470030586854S425x425Q85.jpg)

Those who have followed me for a while know that I entered query wars recently. I'm feeling a bit battle-scarred right now, and I would love some feedback from you.

I love my original query (I'm not going to tell you which one it is), but I'm not receiving any requests to see my MS. Therefore, with some help from my inner circle, I've been playing with my query letter and my early chapters. Now, I would love it if you would be willing to trudge through my two versions and let me know what you think. What works? What doesn't? Any changes you suggest?

In order to keep this shorter, I did not include the final paragraph of personal info. Yes, you're welcome.

Version One

Dear __________,

Eight-year-old Scott is stunned when he ends up at The Naughty Boy Factory—which was supposed to be a myth, like Bigfoot or the Bermuda Triangle.

Sure, he’s a bit lazy and messy and likes to pick on his sister, but so what? Somebody has to keep things interesting. And how is he supposed to grow up to be a ninja-mechanic-airplane pilot if he never gets to practice his skills? But when Mom and Dad decide to ship him off for some fixing, Scott finds out The Factory is no myth—it’s real.

Thanks to an evil director, her scary robot guards, and the B.A.D. center (where the really bad boys are sent for some serious brainwashing), Scott and his group of boys reluctantly do as they are told. They are led them through a series of better behavior stations, including the Ear Enhancer, the Mouth Wash, and the TongueTorium, where their bad habits are all mysteriously “fixed right up”. But then it’s on to the Hands and Feet Department to fix their running, wrestling, and bug smashing fun—and that’s when Scott decides things have gone too far.

Hoping to save himself and his new friends, Scott confronts Mr. Little. Just when Scott thinks he’s won, the director captures them all—including Mr. Little—and herds them toward the B.A.D. center. It’s all or nothing—escape or end up transformed into boring, well-mannered mama’s boys.

Version Two
(slightly edited since first posted, based on comment feedback)

Dear __________,

Eight-year old Scott may be a bit lazy and messy and like to pick on his sister, but so what? Somebody has to keep things interesting. And how is he supposed to grow up to be a ninja-mechanic-airplane pilot if he never gets to practice his skills? But when he ruins his little sister’s birthday party with a well-aimed cup of worms, his parents ship him off to The Naughty Boy Factory—a place he’d always believed was about as real as Bigfoot or the Bermuda Triangle.

Thanks to an evil director, her scary robot guards, and the B.A.D. center (where the really bad boys are sent for some serious brainwashing), Scott and his group of boys reluctantly do as they are told. After being marched through a series of better behavior stations, including the Ear Enhancer, the Mouth Wash, and the TongueTorium, Scott worries he may end up a boring, too-good, mama’s boy. Then, at the Hands and Feet Department, Scott is told his running, wrestling, and sneaking-up-on-sisters days will soon be over. And that’s when he decides things have gone too far.

So...is my face dirty? Do not spare my feelings. This is business. Besides, a good writer needs to handle constructive criticism well. Right? Right!